Last essay is safely handed in, now I have to find a thesis topic or annotated translation piece. I have filed my tax return after doing far more research than I felt comfortable with on liability for tax in Germany. Someone at one of the accountancy firms I spoke to asked someone in the expatriate tax department at Deloitte & Touche in Reading to call me and they seem to agree. Phew.
In other news, my favourite bag - a black waist pack that I used as a shoulder bag, bought in Japan back in 2003 or so and just big enough for a Lonely Planet Japan and a camera and a map - went to its eternal rest in the summer after I managed to put a rip in the bottom of it. Probably Lonely Planet Germany on top my keys. I was figuring out it was on its last legs at the craft fair I did with himself's mom in July, and one of the other stands there was a lady selling handmade bags. We got talking. I remembered I had some lovely aizome fabric I bought in Ise last year. And this is the result!
The main body of the bag is blue denim, with a wide stripe fabric for the outer pockets and flap, plus a thin stripe fabric for the lining, and a little of the wide stripe for an inside pocket. It's perfect!
I had a discussion about brand goods with a friend in Japan while I was there. She saw a designer bag as a status symbol - I'm successful, at my age I can afford one of these. Maybe, but I keep getting stuck on buying my lovely Dakine bag in Frankfurt - let me get you another identical one from out the back, Made In China. I'd much rather a handmade one of a kind item than a mass produced one. It's the same as the burst of happiness I felt when someone commented that one of bracelets could never be taken for anything but handmade. I like that.
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